Metallic cross-tie.



0. T. GREGG. msmuc cnnss THE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3 19!?- 1,251,508. Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE.

OTIS TIFFANY GREGG, OF HACKEN$ACK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE GREGG COM- PANY, LIMITED, OF HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METALLIC CROSS-TIE.

Application filed February 8, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Orrs TIFFANY GREGG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hackensack, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certam new and useful Improvements in Metallic Cross-Ties; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to railway metallic cross ties. It has for its object to form a cross tie which will have greater depth between the end portions than at the ends so as to provide the greatest strength at the portion receiving the greatest strain; and will have a broad bearing surface at the arched ends for the rails to rest upon; will have outwardly inclined walls from end to end to give strength and tend to prevent creeping; will have outwardly extending flanges at the base of the side walls to provide a fiat bearing surface at the base of the tie; and will have portions between the central and end portions inclined from the central to the flattened end portions so as to tend to shed water and dlrt and thus lessen the tendency or liability to oxidation or rust.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear the invention consists in the features of construction hereinafter particularly described and then sought to be defined by the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective of a tie embodying the invention, and showing rails in position thereon;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tie;

Fig. 8 is a cross section on the line 33 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4: is a cross section on the line 4i of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawing the numeral 1 designates the rail bearing ends of the tie; 2 the central or middle portion; and 3 the portions Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

Serial No. 146,408.

inclining from the middle to the rail end bearing portions. All three portions are arched or raised, the end portions being of less depth than the middle portion as the middle portion receives the greatest stress or strain and therefore needs to be stronger than the end portions and for that reason is made deeper than the end portions. The end portions are flared relatively to the middle portion so as to afford a broad bearing for the rails 4, and their top surface is flat or in a substantially horizontal plane so that the rails may stand upright and firmly thereon. The portions between the ends and middle portion incline downwardly from the middle portion to the end portions so that water and dirt will tend to run or slide therefrom instead of standing thereon and the tendency to oxidize or rust the metal will be minimized. This inclination is also calculated to give greater strength to the tie. The side walls 5 from end to end of the tie slant or incline outwardly from the top of the tie clownwardly to give additional strength to the tie and resist tendency to creep, and from the bottom or base of the inclined side walls.

are outwardly extending flanges 6 which afford an extended flat bearing surface to the base ofthe tie so that it may have a relatively broad bearing on the surface upon which it may rest.

A tie formed as specified has greater vertical strength at the ends Where it lies under the rails than a tie that is flat and not arched; it also has a broad bearing surface where the rails rest thereon; it has relatively greater strength at its middle portion, where the greatest strength is needed, by reason of the greater depth given to the middle portion than to the end portions; the sloping side walls also impart strength and tend to prevent creeping; the flanges at the base of the side walls give to the tie a firm flat bearing on the surface on which it rests; and it is free from any depressions that would tend to hold dirt and moisture. Furthermore its form enables a number of the ties to nest closely and compactly one within the other so that there is considerable saving in freight charges for shipment or transportation, and considerable space is saved in storage.

The ties are stamped or pressed to shape from blanks with steel dies, and their ends formed with recesses 7 to receive clamping claws 8 and with openings 9 to receive the hook end of a nutted bolt 10 by which the rail is clamped to the tie.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits what I claim is:

1. An arched or hollow metallic cross-tie formed with a. central portion having greater depth than the end portions, the end portions having greater width than the middle portion, the side walls being sloped outwardly from top to bottom, and flanges extending laterally from the base of the side walls from end to end of the tie.

15 2. An arched or hollow metallic cross-tie formed with a central portion of greater depth than the end portions, the end portions having greater width than the middle portion, and portions inclining from the middle to the end portions, the tie throughout its length having sloping side walls and flanges extending laterally from the base of the side walls. 7

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OTIS TIFFANY GREGG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of llatents- Washington, D. O. 

